Twitter's New Labels to Combat Vaccine Misinformation

On Monday, Twitter declared the commencement of adding new labels to user timelines. This initiative is designed to counter misinformation that has the potential to hinder the successful distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

These labels will also be displayed as pop-up notifications when users attempt to retweet content. They represent the company’s newest attempt to influence user behavior on the platform in a positive direction.

How the Labels Will Function

The notices attached to tweets containing misinformation will alert users that the information “may be misleading.” A link to verified public health resources will also be provided.

Initially, these vaccine misinformation reviews will be carried out by human moderators at Twitter, rather than relying on automated systems. This phase begins today.

Future Plans for Misinformation Detection

Twitter intends to utilize the findings from these initial human assessments to refine its AI systems. The long-term goal is to employ a combination of human review and automated scanning to identify vaccine-related misinformation.

The initial rollout of this measure will focus on tweets written in English, with plans for subsequent expansion to other languages.

New Strike System for Policy Violations

A new strike system has been implemented by Twitter to address violations of its policies concerning the pandemic. This system mirrors the consequences established for suppressing voter information and spreading misinformation related to voting.

Under this framework, accounts receiving two or three “strikes” will be temporarily locked for 12 hours. Four violations will result in a one-week suspension of account access.

Accumulating five strikes may lead to permanent account suspension.

Evolution of Twitter's Pandemic Policies

Twitter first introduced policies specifically addressing the pandemic a year ago. These policies prohibit tweets that promote false treatments or preventative measures, as well as content that could increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

In December, Twitter expanded its rules to specifically address prevalent vaccine conspiracy theories and announced the impending arrival of warning labels.

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